


Bonds

by lokiofasgard0228



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 21:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 12,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18351935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lokiofasgard0228/pseuds/lokiofasgard0228
Summary: Two Avengers form an unlikely friendship, causing the other Avengers to wonder if the God of Mischief isn't so bad after all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope those who read this book enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it, but I just wanted to put in a few notes before you start!
> 
> For starters, this is a trigger warning, as this book contains anxiety/panic attacks, flashbacks with mild violence, as well as some others. I will try to warn you if a chapter contains one of these triggers!
> 
> Next I'd like to mention that the story line does not exactly follow the MCU timeline though it is based primarily off of the MCU movies. If there are any inconsistencies I apologize.
> 
> Lastly, all of these characters and rights belong to Marvel. 
> 
> I hope you guys like it, and please comment your thoughts and suggestions!!

 

"Parker!" Loki heard the billionaire call from the lab down the hall. Faint shuffling sounds came from the room beside his; it was the spider-kid's room and it sounded like he had just woken up. Loki was just leaving his room after deciding to raid the kitchen for food when the boy shuffled past, barely looking at him. The God did notice, however, the darkened circles below his eyes and the tinge of fear that still lingered within them as he stared blankly at the floor while he walked past, still in his pajamas. Something was wrong with the boy, and Loki wasn't sure why, but he felt...concerned for the kid.

It wasn't that he actually cared what happened to the kid, just...he hadn't failed to notice how all of the other Avengers still tended to flinch whenever he came near—aside from Thor—or were still very cautious around him. They didn't trust him completely, for obvious reasons. But the kid, Spider-Man or whatever he was called, had grown up knowing what happened in New York and knew who was responsible for it, but Loki had never seen him appear afraid around the God. He simply accepted that the God had changed, and though Loki would never admit it, it felt good to know he wasn't feared by everyone.

For that, the kid had his respect. 

 

\--.--

 

"Spider-kid," Loki said, gently grabbing the boy's arm. Still waking up from the nightmare he'd been having, the kid flinched at the contact, not realizing who was standing over him.

"...Mr. Stark?" the kid asked brokenly, struggling to wake.

"No," a velvety voice purred, though not in a sinister or unkind way. Peter stiffened slightly, but his spider-sense wasn't alerting him to any danger from the God so he relaxed.

Loki had been lying awake in his bed after having his own nightmares when he heard whimpering from the room beside his, as if the boy was in pain. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he realized that the boy was having nightmares.  _That must be why he looks like what those Midgardians call a "zombie"._ Something had compelled him to climb out of his own bed to go and comfort the boy. The God had never had anyone to comfort him during his own nightmares, not that anyone knew he got them, but he didn't want this poor, surprisingly young Midgardian boy to suffer as he did.

Once Peter realized who had woken him up, his eyes snapped open and he stared up at the God of Mischief who was watching him...and he seemed to be genuinely concerned, though he tried to hide it immediately.

 _Huh,_ Peter thought, not expecting the God to care this much. He pushed himself upright in his bed while the God let go of his arm. They were both silent for a few moments, Peter trying to push his dream to the back of his mind when suddenly Loki spoke.

"I am...sorry, spider-kid, that you have to go through this torture too." Loki had spoken softly enough that without his advanced hearing, Peter wouldn't have heard him.  _Wait_ , something in his mind told him as the words sunk in to his head, still swirling with hundreds of thoughts and emotions from his dream.    


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

****Trigger warning****

 

Suddenly, Stark and Steve came barreling into the room, almost running into Loki in the doorway. Steve stopped to glare at the God, daring him to make a move, and Loki simply sighed. Stark rushed over to the kid, asking "Are you okay kid? FRIDAY sensed your vitals going haywire and I got here as fast as I could."

"I'm fine, Mr. Stark," he muttered, not wanting to be a burden to the billionaire. He knew that Mr. Stark cared about him, but he was alright, now that he was awake and not back there again, trapped and struggling for his life—

Peter suddenly paled and began gasping for air, feeling as if his spider-sense had gone haywire. His vision darkened around the edges and he felt as if his own skin was suffocating him. He couldn't move, couldn't breath. He needed to get away, but he couldn't. Thoughts and images swam in his head, muddled but terrifying...

Loki watched, confused and worried about what was going on with the boy. But Stark seemed to know, beginning to comfort the kid and getting him to try and control his breathing. The boy's eyes were squeezed shut and he was screaming "Help me, somebody, please help me!"

"What is happening," the God demanded, and Steve was surprised to hear such concern in his voice.

"He's having another panic attack," Steve whispered, unsure of what to do.

Loki didn't know what that meant, but he walked over to the boy, Stark trying to get in his way protectively. "What the hell are you doing?!" Stark said to the God, trying not to yell. "Stay away from him!"

Behind them, Steve said, "Stark, let him help." The billionaire stiffened, but allowed Loki to silently sit on the bed and place his hand on the kid's head. Using his magic, Loki pushed calming energy into the boy's thoughts, which had an immediate effect. However, this also allowed the God to witness what the boy had been seeing.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys this chapter was really short, the rest of them won't be as short I promise!


	3. Chapter 3

_Peter stood in front of Toomes, dodging the heavy set of metal wings as they attacked him, Toomes laughing in the background. Suddenly, the wings returned to the villain and Peter commented snarkily, "You missed."_

_"Did I?" he asked, smirking before he flew upwards through the ceiling. Suddenly, the building collapsed around and on top of him, and pain lanced through his lower body. He was trapped under the rubble, with no one around to help him. He began screaming for help, knowing it was pointless. Mr. Stark had taken away his suit, so he couldn't call anyone for help. He was left here to die, and he was suddenly very terrified; he didn't want to die alone._

Loki gasped and broke contact, though by this point the boy was already asleep. Stark searched the God's face, trying to figure why he was helping the kid and what had made him so upset, but saw nothing in Loki's now carefully expressionless face. As the God stood to leave however, he saw a flash of pain and anger in his emerald eyes, though not directed at him. Wondering what that was about, he turned back to the kid, who was now breathing normally and more peacefully than he had in weeks. Loki and Steve had already left the room, and Tony kissed Peter on the forehead before following.

Loki was stalking down the hallway, back to his own room when Stark grabbed his arm. "What did you do to him, Reindeer Games?" Loki sighed, turning around and glaring at Tony until he let go of the God's wrist.

"He was experiencing a bad memory, yes?" the God asked, as if speaking with a child. "I amplified the good ones so his mind would focus on those rather than the bad." He was really not in the mood for this, not after seeing what happened.

"Then why did you look so upset about it?" Stark demanded, refusing to end the conversation.

Getting irritated now, Loki snapped, "Doing so allows me to see what he sees, an unfortunate side effect."

"What did you see?" Steve asked gently from the shadows behind Stark.

"Ask him yourself," Loki snapped, before turning and stalking away angrily, leaving a confused and worried pair of Avengers.

 

\--.--

 

Loki didn't sleep for the rest of the night; he was listening to make sure the kid slept. He needed it, and Loki needed to think. If only he could leave this damned tower, a walk would clear his head right now. Instead, he paced by the window of his room until the sky began to turn pink with the oncoming sunrise over the city below. He stalked to the kitchen, grabbing some breakfast and going back to his room.

He didn't know much about the other Avengers; he didn't care enough to learn more about them and they certainly weren't about to open up to him. But something told him that there was more to the kid than meets the eye. He certainly wasn't going to ask Stark to tell him more about the boy, so he brooded until he was struck with an idea.

 _What was it called,_ he thought, looking to speak with the AI that inhabited the house. One of the days of the week, he recalled, then remembered. Feeling foolish, he said aloud, "FRIDAY?"

"Yes, Loki Odinson?" the AI answered, and the God flinched at the name. Unsure of himself, he answered, "Tell me about Peter Parker."


	4. Chapter 4

 

As Loki learned about Peter's past from FRIDAY, he became more and more impressed that the kid could smile and laugh at all. Though lately the kid had been sullen and kept to himself more, likely due to the nightmares. Loki was sure that he was not the only person to have noticed. He wasn't entirely sure why he cared so much though; he was a God, why should he care about these pathetic mortals?

A soft knock on the door interrupted his brooding. "What do you want?" he asked irritably, assuming it was Stark.

"Oh, um—I'm s—sorry Mr. Loki, I'll just le—" the mortal child's voice stammered from the other side of the door.

"No, you may enter," the God said, wondering what the boy could want with him. Looking at the time, he realized with a start that it was already late afternoon. The spider-kid shuffled into the well-furnished room that looked like it came straight out of Asgard. The kid looked around, hair ruffled from sleep and mouth hanging slightly open, until his eyes landed on Loki. The God watched him carefully, looking for signs of fear, but saw none. The kid looked down at his feet, rubbing the floor with his toes nervously; he'd never talked to the God openly before. Loki waited, surprisingly patient, for him to speak.

"I—I just wa—wanted to say th—thank you, Mr. Loki," he stuttered, nervous about how the God would react. Loki was dumbfounded. Never,  _never_ , in the thousand years of his existence had someone ever given him a sincere and simple thank you; not like this.

Peter wasn't sure what the God was thinking, he just stared at Peter, expressionless. Not knowing what else to do, he murmured, "I—I'm sorry for disturbing you, Mr. Loki," and began to back out of the room.

Suddenly, the God spoke. "You're welcome, Peter." A small grin appeared on the boy's face before he turned and shuffled out, already looking healthier now that he'd had actual sleep. Peter realized that everyone underestimated Loki; they assumed he didn't care, but Peter saw now. The God never cared because no one else gave him the time of day. 

The God of Mischief watched the boy go, feeling a strangely pleasant feeling overcome him, and he couldn't help but smile, just a little bit. For the first time in his whole life, he felt appreciated. And that was all he had ever wanted. No one had ever cared for him, so why in the nine realms should he care about petty feelings like happiness and acceptance? But...he couldn't quite force himself to believe that anymore.

 

\--.--

 

Late that night, Loki was in the midst of his own nightmares when a soft knock on the door caused him to bolt awake. "Mr. Loki?" someone whispered from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"

"Enter." Still shaking slightly and sweating, the God used magic to change clothes and appear more presentable as the kid shuffled into the room once more, this time dragging a blanket with him. Loki could see the exhaustion weighing down on him, and he felt...was that sympathy, for the child? Disgusting. Still, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid, who just stood in front of him in the awkward silence. Finally, Loki spoke.

"Do you need something?" he asked bluntly, but not harshly.

"I—I was wondering if I could st—stay in here for the night, in case I g—get nightmares again," he stammered, afraid the God would say no or yell at him for bothering him.

"Of course," the God replied, surprising even himself. The boy looked up at him hopefully.

Loki stood and motioned for him to lie in the bed, but the boy's eyes widened and he said "No no no I—you don't have t—I can sleep in the chair or on the floor—"

"No," Loki cut him off. "I wasn't sleeping anyway." Gratefully, the boy crawled into the bed, moving to the far side so that Loki had enough room to lay down if he wanted. The kid was almost instantly asleep, and the God simply sat on the edge of the bed across from him.

No one had trusted him this much in over eight hundred years, not even his own brother. He suddenly felt very protective of this young mortal boy, who had gone through so much loss and still shown him nothing but sincerity and kindness.


	5. Chapter 5

Loki woke up to the alarm blaring through the tower in the morning, though not overly loud. He found that he had been sleeping sideways in the armchair in the corner of his room and yawned, then remembered why he wasn't in his bed. The kid had already shot to his feet, alert and trying to figure out where he was, until he saw Loki. The spider-kid beamed at him, causing the God to feel rather taken aback. Enough that he offered the kid a small, genuine smile in return.

The God yawned again, assuming a bored expression, before leaving the room. Gods, he was stiff from sleeping in that damned chair. Using his magic, he changed into his comfortable Asgardian clothing just as he heard the spider-kid running down the hall to catch up with him, still in his pajamas, practically bouncing up and down.

"What's going on?" the kid asked him as they all walked towards the kitchen area, the unofficially designated meeting place.

"I haven't the faintest idea, Spiderling, I presume we shall find out when we get there," the God replied, giving the boy a look that was supposed to deter him from pestering Loki anymore, which failed miserably.

"That's the alarm for a mission! I wonder what it is! I hope Mr. Stark will let me help out too, I've missed being Spider-Man even though its only been a few days since I was last out," the boy babbled, Loki mostly trying to ignore him. This could surely not be the same nervous child that had knocked on his door yesterday.

"Brother! You're up early," Thor boomed from behind them, chuckling. Loki groaned.

"It isn't like I could sleep with this obnoxiously infuriating noise going off this early in the morning!" Loki snapped. Thor only chuckled again.

"Hi Mr. Thor!" the kid said from beside Loki, waving at the large Asgardian.

"Well hello, Spiderling! I did not see you down there," Thor said, catching up to them just as they entered the kitchen area, where Stark, Steve, and Natasha were all standing, waiting for the others. The alarm suddenly turned itself off. The boy ran over and threw himself at Stark, hugging him. Stark was obviously not very pleased by being touched, and Loki snickered, earning himself a glare from Tony. Natasha, who witnessed the exchange, called Peter over to her and whispered something in his ear. The kid immediately looked over at the God of Mischief and grinned, well, mischievously.

Loki was certain this was not a good thing.

Just then, the other Avengers, including Barton, Bruce, Sam, and the witch—what was her name again? He couldn't remember, he typically didn't care enough to—walked into the kitchen as well.

Suddenly he felt someone crash into him, and looked down to see that it was the spider-kid wrapping Loki in a hug. The God glared at Natasha and Stark, who were trying not to hurt themselves laughing, then glared at the mortal child who had wrapped himself around Loki's waist and legs and was giggling uncontrollably. However, everybody saw Loki's gaze soften—however slightly—as it was turned on the boy, who just giggled some more, looking up at him. The God of Mischief gently but sternly pushed the boy off of him, who immediately began to pout. Loki looked at the boy disapprovingly. "What was that?"

"A hug," the kid answered.

"Disgusting." Loki said. He heard Stark and some of the others start laughing once more. The God whispered so only the kid could hear him, "Do it again."

The kid happily obliged, and almost everyone in the room roared with laughter. Even Loki himself had to crack a small smile, realizing that this was the second time in merely 20 minutes he had done so. Thor didn't fail to notice this, though he knew pointing it out to his brother would make him angry.

When everyone could breathe again, Stark clapped his hands, getting everyone's attention.

"FRIDAY, show us what we're dealing with here," Stark announced, and holographic images popped up from the kitchen counter so everyone could see. Their sudden appearance caused Loki to jump; he would never get used to mortals and their weird technology.

"A bit jumpy today, aren't we Reindeer Games?" Stark asked him, earning another glare from the God. "Right, anyway, we caught wind of some advanced tech—no it is not mine Rogers, before you butt in and ask—but still dangerous tech that was stolen." He paused for a moment, then added quieter, "There was a shipment of a small amount of vibranium that was stolen at the same time."

Loki didn't know what this vibranium was, but obviously it was important because the room erupted into simultaneous arguments, primarily between Steve and Tony. The kid, who was standing next to him still, immediately covered his ears, and began to back away, eyes shut tight. No one else seemed to notice through their shouting. Loki really hoped it wasn't another one of those panic attacks; he didn't have the mindset to see another horrifying memory right now. But it was causing Peter significant discomfort, so he shoved his way in between the shouting Avengers and pushed Steve and Stark apart. He didn't have to look to know that almost all of the Avengers either had their weapons ready or were ready to fight him instantly at his sign of aggression. He sighed and simply pointed at the spider-kid. Stark was the first person to react, running over to him.

"He's having a sensory overload," Stark said, glaring darkly at the others, mostly Steve. "All the noise overwhelmed his senses. FRIDAY, dim the lights to 25%."

"Stark," Steve said softly, "We still need to go on this mission, and quickly, before we lose any leads we might have."

"Alright, let me just bring him back to his room first—"

"I can take him." Loki said, surprising everyone once again.

"No," Stark said, and the God bristled.

"And why, may I ask, not?" Loki said, his silky voice interlaced with a hint of anger that he was sure they all heard. "Do you not trust me, do you truly believe I would hurt a child?" No one made a sound, aside from Peter who was still whimpering in pain from the sudden deafening silence. Loki met Stark's glare before stating, "No harm will come to him; you have my word as a Prince of Asgard."

Thor's intake of breath told Stark how important this was for Loki to have said, and he slowly released Peter. Loki gently and easily picked him up. "You currently do not need me on this mission, I presume?" Steve nodded silently, and Loki turned and stalked away, the kid starting to calm down in his arms.

After they had left, the rest of the Avengers all stared at each other silently, then at Thor, who shrugged and said quietly, "I believe that he has taken a liking to the Spiderling."

 


	6. Chapter 6

In the end, all of the Avengers except Loki, Peter, Barton, and Bruce went on the mission. Barton left to go see his family—which Loki had just discovered he had—and Loki was sure Bruce was staying behind to keep an eye on Loki. After their time on Sakaar he didn't really mind Bruce, so long as he didn't piss him off.

Loki had brought the kid back to his own room once he calmed down and the kid assured him that he was okay now, though disappointed he couldn't go on the mission. The God had returned to his room to read—he surprisingly enjoyed reading books and plays written by a long-dead mortal named Shakespeare. He stayed there for the remainder of the day, pausing only when necessary to eat. Peter came in once dusk had fallen, but Loki pretended to ignore him, lost in the passages of  _Macbeth,_ whose story was not unlike his own. Peter eventually fell asleep in the armchair, and sighing the God moved the kid to the bed and resigned himself to another uncomfortable night. And indeed it was.

\--.--

He wasn't entirely sure what, but something woke Peter in the middle of the night. Realizing where he was, he sat up, listening carefully for the sound that woke him. He heard it once more, so quiet that even with his enhanced senses he barely caught it—and it was coming from the sleeping God, who was twitching slightly in his sleep, eyes squeezed shut. Peter suddenly recalled something the God had said to him, and Peter realized he wasn't the only one with nightmares. He didn't know much about Loki's past other than what Thor and Mr. Stark had told him, but he felt bad for the God.

He didn't know what to do; he didn't want the God angry at him if Peter woke him up, but he also knew from experience that it felt better to be awake, to be ripped out of reliving the horrors. He wanted to comfort the raven-haired God, but he didn't know how. Unsure of himself, Peter slipped out of the bed, quietly approached the sleeping God and hesitated before lightly tapping Loki's arm.

As soon as his hand made contact with the God, the room around him vanished and Peter found he was standing on the edge of the world, literally. Looking around frantically, Peter saw that he was standing on a broken colorful bridge, with three figures in front of him: An older man, holding a staff, that—was that Thor and Loki?—were hanging off of. He realized that he must be on Asgard. He couldn't hear what was said, but suddenly Loki let go and fell into a swirling hole in space. Thor was screaming, as was Peter, though he had the feeling they couldn't hear him. The scene shifted, and he was standing on a cold, barren planet. Looking around, he saw Loki in all of his regalia and holding the scepter, standing with his back to Peter and looking upwards at— _holy shit, was that Thanos_? Peter froze in fear, trying desperately not to have another panic attack from his own visions and nightmares, and noticed that Loki, though he was trying to hide it, was also trembling. There was a smaller figure who was circling around Loki, speaking to him in a raspy, threatening voice, but Peter was too far away to hear what was being said. He jumped when Loki shouted "I was a King! The rightful King of Asgard, betrayed." This was nothing like the Loki he knew now, and Peter guessed this must have been before the Battle for New York. Suddenly the scene changed one last time, to Loki standing among a burning ship, with the members of the Black Order—Peter only recognized the two that he had fought—circled around him, weapons pointed at his face. Peter was shocked to see Thor being dragged forward by the Mad Titan and by the pure fear in Loki's emerald eyes. Peter could only watch the scene unfold helplessly as Loki tried to kill Thanos but failed. Peter wanted to turn away, but he couldn't do anything but watch as Thanos killed Loki with a sickening crunch that Peter was sure he would never be able to unhear. The Titan tossed the God of Mischief's body onto the ground without a second thought. Peter was screaming by now, but no sound came from his throat, when suddenly he was back in the tower again, lurching backwards and gasping.

His spidey-sense flared at him but before Peter could blink or react, Loki was on his feet with a dagger pointed at his throat, and Peter froze. He could see lingering panic, pain, and fear in the God's emerald eyes from his nightmares until recognition flooded them a moment later and Loki lowered the blade. He watched as Loki sat back down in the chair, quickly schooling his facial features to become expressionless, in which he clearly had practice.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Loki, for waking you, you just seemed to be having a bad dream and I know that it hurts having nightmares and I just wanted to help—"

"It is okay, young mortal," Loki cut the boy off. He was still shaken, but was grateful the boy had woken him from this particular dream. Loki sighed and stood, knowing he wasn't going to get any more sleep tonight. The boy did not flinch in fear of the God who had almost killed him moments ago, which Loki found deeply refreshing, though he would never tell anyone that.

Before he even left the room he knew the kid was going to follow him, and he sighed inwardly, but he didn't want to scare the kid off either. It was nice having someone who actually wanted to be in his company of their own will, and he didn't want to lose that right now. Besides, he wasn't really allowed to wander around by himself, so he would take advantage of being with Peter to go for a walk and clear his head.

"You may want to go put on something warmer," the God warned, and the kid, not quite understanding his intentions, ran to his room to get dressed.


	7. Chapter 7

When Peter ran back out into the hallway, the God was still standing there, staring into the darkness with an unfocused gaze. Peter, forcing himself to be energized and pushing Loki's dream to the back of his mind to think about later, bounced to his side and asked, "Where are we going? Shouldn't we tell Dr. Banner?"

"Not far," he answered.

"FRIDAY, when Bruce wakes up tell him where we've gone, okay? I'll keep an eye on Mr. Loki here, he won't get into any trouble, I promise."

The God stared at him, surprised at how much trust Peter had in him. "Do you really think you could keep me in check?" he asked, his voice almost a purr. He hadn't really seen the kid in action, but what was a mortal child against a sorcerer?

Loki had no plans to take over Midgard, but he didn't truly believe the kid when he smiled innocently and said, "Yep!" then scurried off towards the elevator. Shaking his head, Loki changed into Midgardian clothes as he walked, not wishing to be recognized tonight even though he doubted he would. Peter watched in fascination as the God used his magic, not realizing he was staring with his mouth hanging open.

"You look like you've never seen magic before, mortal child."

Peter's mouth snapped shut. "Well, I haven't." He couldn't wait to tell his best friend Ned about this!

Loki obviously hated the confined elevator space, and secretly Peter did too, due to—nope, not thinking about that right now. Peter tried to distract himself by pestering the God. "Where are we going, Mr. Loki? Are you sure we're allowed to leave? Are you going to be warm enough, it is winter you know. I hope I'm not bothering you, Mr. Loki, I just get so excited sometimes!" and on and on he went as the unlikely pair left the tower and walked down the street. Peter soon realized where they were headed, and noticeably quieted.

 

**A/N**

**I based this next part of the chapter off of a previous fanfiction I have published (called Forgiveness) because I really liked it and what it shows about the growth of Loki's character in this story, so I apologize if it seems a bit repetitive!**

 

The small square area where the monument stood was surrounded by a low stone wall meant primarily for decoration, aside from the gap through which Loki and Peter entered. Peter stood back and watched as the God very slowly circled the stone pillar, whispering unintelligibly as he went. Even with his advanced hearing, he could only hear a few words at a time, but stopped listening entirely when he realized the God was reading the names etched into the pillar.

Peter didn't know what he felt; he remembered the day that Loki had invaded New York, everyone in New York did. May was at work and he had been at school when the students were told to find cover. May called him in a panic, making sure he was okay, but since Queens was on the other side of the city from the tower he assured her he was fine. He and May came out okay, but he knew other students at his school had family member's names on the monument before him. If only those students could see what Peter was seeing; a whole new side of the God of Mischief that no one had ever seen and that for some reason he so desperately tried to hide. Those students might have forgiven him if they were here, as Peter did long ago. 

When Loki was at the front again, he simply stood in front of it, head bowed. Peter was starting to get cold, but he didn't dare interrupt the God's vigil. A few minutes later, Loki turned and walked back towards Peter, who tried not to notice the wetness in the God's emerald eyes. Peter, sensing that the God needed a distraction, started bouncing around again, even trying to annoy the God to keep him from brooding, and partially succeeded.

When they arrived on the Avenger's floor of the tower however, they were greeted with a very angry Bruce. 


	8. Chapter 8

Both of them froze, like kids stealing from a cookie jar. They did  _not_ want to escalate this situation. Bruce seemed to have it under control, however, though he was still angrier than Peter had ever seen him.

"And where, exactly, have you been?" Bruce demanded.

"Out," Loki said, striding past the man. "Don't worry, I had a chaperone, and no, I didn't kill anyone or try to take over the world." He wasn't sure, but Peter thought he heard an edge of bitterness in Loki's silky voice.

Peter shot Bruce an apologetic glance as Loki vanished down the hallway, still brooding. Bruce turned to Peter, who said softly, "The monument." Bruce's eyes widened, already knowing that this had not been Peter's idea, and looked towards where the God of Mischief had disappeared down the shadow-filled hallway.

 

\--.--

 

For the next three days, Loki remained in his room, leaving only for food, and whenever Peter tried to enter the God would turn him away, not wanting to be bothered by the energetic child. There was no news from the other Avengers yet, not even a single update on how their mission had gone, and Peter was worried. He knew that Mr. Stark would try to contact them in some way or another unless something had gone wrong and couldn't, but Dr. Banner convinced Peter to wait a few more days. So Peter went to school during the days but spent the nights at the tower because May was usually trying to sleep for her late night shifts and he didn't want to bother her. Bruce allowed Peter to have Ned over for a few hours at a time to keep Peter distracted, because Bruce was inwardly very worried as well.

Ned and Peter were in Peter's room one afternoon working on their homework for chemistry class when the God of Mischief stalked by, headed towards the kitchen, and Ned looked at Peter with wide eyes.

"Is that—"

"Yes, Ned," Peter sighed. Ned looked terrified; he'd heard that the God was staying with the Avengers but he hadn't really believed that they just let him walk around like that! "Ned, he's not so bad, not anymore. If you're nice to him, he is nice—in his own way—back."

"But—but he—"

"That was years ago, Ned! People do change, you know." Peter wasn't sure why he was so defensive of the God, but he had seen another side of Loki that no one else cared to look for. "Plus, he can do  _magic_ ," Peter added with a grin.

"Wait really? That's so cool!"

"I know, right? C'mon, I'll get him to show you!"

"Wait—" Peter grabbed Ned's arm and basically dragged him down the hallway towards the kitchen.

"Don't look so afraid, Ned, he's a person too," Peter whispered, then entered the room, Ned trailing behind him.

"Hi Mr. Loki!" Peter called, practically bouncing over to the God, who was much taller than Ned had originally thought. "This is my friend Ned! We go to school together, and he's here so we can work on our homework together and I figured I would introduce you to him cause you're super cool too—"

_Wait, what?_ The God thought, dumbfounded and slightly honored. He stared at the kid, who was still babbling excitedly. He looked over at the kid's friend, what was his name—Ted?—who was looking up at him with awe and a hint of fear.

"—and I was hoping maybe you could possibly show Ned and I some of your magic, 'cause it's really cool to watch and we obviously don't have magic here on—what do you call Earth? Midgard?"

Loki took a sip of his tea, one of his new favorite Midgardian drinks, before absentmindedly wiggling his fingers, lifting Peter up off the ground midsentence and hanging him upside down. The energetic spider-kid only giggled, while his friend Ned watched in awe. The God took another drink before letting Peter fall to the ground. The kid immediately bounced to his feet while his friend exclaimed, "That was amazing!"

"I know, right? C'mon Ned, let's go finish our chem homework so we can finish that LEGO Deathstar before you have to leave!" The two walked back down the hall, and thinking they were out of earshot, Peter nudged Ned and said, "See? He's not so bad!"


	9. Chapter 9

A week had passed and there was still no word from the Avengers; Peter was beginning to freak out and even Bruce looked quite anxious. For his part, Loki didn't truly care if any of them came back—aside from maybe his brother, though he would never admit it to him—but he knew the spider-kid cared deeply for Stark.

The kid still had nightmares, though not as much, and more often than not the kid slept in Loki's bedroom. Every time the kid had a really bad nightmare, Loki would use his magic to calm him enough to lull him back to sleep. He assumed FRIDAY alerted Bruce each time it happened, because the God always sensed Bruce in the doorway, watching, but never intervening.

Peter was out one afternoon doing Spider-Man stuff when the God heard a knock on his door and Bruce entered. Loki closed the book he had been reading and looked up as Bruce came to stand before him.

"We need to find the others," Bruce said. "It's unlike Stark to wait this long to contact us, especially since he knows Peter is here and worried about him. Since FRIDAY can't seem to find them and I don't know the first thing about operating most of Tony's tech, I'm going to go to the few people who could find the others. You're staying here, to watch Peter."

The God smiled, the grin not reaching his eyes. "I'm not staying simply to babysit, am I? No, I think I'm not allowed to know where you're going."

"Wasn't my call to make, Loki. Don't make me regret saying this, but...I trust you with the kid; he seems to care for you." Bruce didn't point out that it was obvious the God cared for the kid just as much. He had been watching them, and had begun to see a new side of Loki that the God rarely let show; and Bruce was very glad that Peter had gotten him to open up a bit. It was about time. "I'll let you know when we find them; I may need your help."

Loki gasped dramatically. " _You?_ Needing  _my_ help? I never thought I would hear that coming from you!" His emerald eyes twinkled mischievously, and Bruce sighed. "Don't push it, Loki. I beat the shit out of you once, don't think I won't do it again." With that, Bruce turned and left the room, leaving Loki to grumble at the memory.

Hours after Bruce had left for the top-secret-place-that-Loki-wasn't-supposed-to-know-about, Peter arrived, still in his Spider-Man suit. "Where's Dr. Banner?" the kid asked, raiding the fridge for leftovers.

Loki, who was sitting on the couch reading Shakespeare, answered "Some top secret place I am not allowed to know about, trying to find the others I would presume," without looking up from his book. The kid's mood changed instantly; he seemed to know exactly where Bruce had gone and was upset that he couldn't have gone too. The kid plopped onto the couch next to the God and turned on the television in front of them and began to eat, while Loki mostly ignored him. That is, until FRIDAY paused the television and announced, "Mr. Parker and Loki Odinson, there is a visitor at the door to the tower, shall I let them in?" The God winced once again at the use of his last name, then realized Peter had gone white with fear beside him. Loki glanced up at the screen, seeing an older Midgardian man looking up at the cameras in the lobby of the tower, angrily demanding to be let in and even yelling at the security guards who were blocking the entrance.

"FRIDAY, who is this?"

"It appears to be General Thaddeus Ross, Loki Odinson."

"Stop calling me that," he hissed, then stood. "I'll take care of it."

Peter tugged on the God's cape. "He can't know I'm here. He doesn't know I'm Spider-Man, and if he knew he would take me away, he hates 'enhanced' individuals more than anyone I've ever met." Loki nodded. As he had promised, no harm would come to this mortal child.

 

\--.--

 

On his way down the elevator—which he still hated—he magically changed into his full Asgardian regalia, helmet and all. Loki didn't know who this man was other than he was part of the American government or what he wanted, but he was not coming inside. The God wasn't going to kill him; no, he was trying to be better, but more importantly he knew Peter was watching through the cameras. He wouldn't be surprised if the kid had even made popcorn while he watched Loki chew this guy out.

When the elevator arrived in the lobby of the tower, the God strode down the hall to the front doors of the tower. The security officers and the woman at the front desk, who were under strict orders from Stark not to allow the general any further than the anteroom no matter what the man said to them, flinched and watched in shock as the God stalked towards the man. The general himself looked surprised and a little afraid when Loki walked directly towards him, chin held high and without doubt. The God towered above the general, who did his best not to look intimidated.

"Can I help you, General?" Loki purred, his velvety voice laced with a hint of threat.

"I need to speak with Stark," the man growled, glaring at the God, who simply gave him a smile that never reached his emerald eyes.

"I'm terribly sorry, Stark is not here right now. I'll tell him you stopped by." With that Loki spun around and began to stalk away, knowing that he was only annoying the man, and he was right.

"You're not even supposed to be here unsupervised, let alone threatening a member of the US government!" Loki stopped, then waited a second longer than necessary before turning around. He knew that FRIDAY was recording the entire thing. He stalked back towards the man, who was now red in the face, while Loki simply smiled, not unlike a snake. The general unconsciously gulped.

"Did I threaten this man?" he asked the people who standing frozen around them, watching the scene unfold. "No, I believe was nothing but polite, as a matter of fact. But, as I have been told before, I seem to have a rather terrible temper, so I will only ask you this once, General. Get out. And as for being 'unsupervised', believe me, if I was, you would no longer be standing here. I'll be sure to tell Stark you stopped by and harassed his employees."

"You're not authorized to tell me to do anything, monster." The general immediately regretted the words, but it was too late.

Loki was straining, fighting with himself not to immediately slay the pompous man in front of him. He reminded himself that the kid was watching, and offered the man another cold smile that promised death.

"I would choose your next words very carefully, General. We wouldn't want to have a disagreement, would we?" The man stood silently, glaring at Loki with rage but not courageous enough to piss the God off even more. "Now, I believe I asked you to leave?" Face red with anger, the man stomped out of the lobby, looking rather like a spoiled child who didn't get what he wanted. As soon as he was gone, everyone in the lobby cheered, and Loki froze. They were cheering? For  _him_? Though some of them still looked afraid, they were happy to see that unpleasant man getting what he deserved for once. Loki couldn't help but smile a little bit, and this time it was genuine, before going back upstairs. 


	10. Chapter 10

As soon as he walked off the elevator the kid threw himself at the God for a hug, and Loki was astounded. He just stood there, letting the kid hug him, unsure of how to respond.

"I don't think you're a monster," he whispered, and Loki felt his eyes start to prickle strangely. Norns, was he about to  _cry_? Disgusting. He forced the tears away, not wanting the kid to see how much his words meant to the normally cold-hearted God. Gently, he pushed the kid off him, and sure enough, the God smelled popcorn. The kid grinned up at him and shot a web upwards, yanking Loki's helmet off his head. Dumbfounded, the God watched as the kid put it on his own head and ran off laughing, and slightly angry but mostly content, the God took off after him.

\--.--

After giving up and letting the kid simply wear his helmet around, Loki and Peter got an incoming call from Bruce, where Peter accidentally revealed that he was in a place called Wakanda.

"Why do you have Loki's helmet on?" Bruce asked the kid with a smirk, and the kid's only response was a giggling fit, while the God of Mischief only rolled his eyes.

Peter then told Bruce about the incident with General Ross, Bruce's response to which was exasperatedly holding his head in his hands for about five minutes while Peter laughed some more. Finally, Bruce told them why he had called.

"Shuri was able to locate the last signal sent by Tony's suit, as well as the last location of where the trackers on everyone else's suits were before they just disappeared. They couldn't find anything more than that, but since vibranium is involved we can count on their help."

Peter became serious, asking "Where, Dr. Banner?"

Bruce gave them the coordinates and said, "We'll meet you there in the morning." With that, he hung up.

Loki snatched his helmet off the kid's head and told him to go get ready.

\--.--

Peter was on the phone with his aunt May when he boarded the plane, Loki already waiting for him.

"—yes, May, I promise I'll be careful! Mr. Stark needs me so I'm going with Mr. Loki—" Peter was cut off by May choking on whatever she had been drinking, followed by a fit of coughing. Peter rolled his eyes, sighing. "Yes, May, I know. I promise I'll be careful. I larb you." She laughed, told him she larbed him back, and hung up. He walked towards the cockpit and told FRIDAY to take them to the coordinates that Bruce had given them. FRIDAY suggested they buckle in, so Peter sat down next to Loki and strapped himself in as the Quinjet took off. Night had fallen, but Peter didn't feel like sleeping, so he pulled out his phone and started playing Candy Crush. Even though it was an old game, he'd kept it on his phone after reaching level 2000, mostly for proof. After a while, he realized that the God was watching him, intrigued.

"Do you want to try?" Peter asked, offering him the small device. Loki took it hesitantly, and played a few rounds. He beat the level that Peter had been stuck on for years, and was triumphant until about two levels later, when he got stuck. After losing for the tenth time, the God cursed at it angrily and Peter, who was laughing, took it back before Loki could throw it across the jet.

 

\--.--

 

As the sky was beginning to lighten, FRIDAY announced that they were about to be landing. The kid had fallen into a dreamless, peaceful sleep leaning against the God two hours ago. Loki shook him awake gently.

The God had spent the time thinking, trying to figure out how the strongest beings in the universe were captured on a seemingly simple mission, particularly his brother, who was not an easy person to subdue or even kill—Loki had tried, on multiple occasions. For that matter, he had led an army against the Avengers and still couldn't kill them. The only being who had almost defeated them all together so far was Thanos, and he was  _dead_. They had made sure of that.

Still stumped, Loki and Peter got off the Quinjet where Bruce and two others were approaching them. They introduced themselves to Loki as King T'Challa and his sister Shuri of Wakanda. Loki found it refreshing not to be immediately looked at with distrust from these two people, and he liked them instantly. The kid obviously knew Shuri, because they immediately started laughing and talking about something, and moments later Peter gestured to Loki, telling her about how he stole the God's helmet. This earned him an evil glare from the God, which the two mortal children simply laughed off, leaving Loki more confused than ever. He rolled his eyes and turned to Bruce and T'Challa, the latter trying not to laugh as he looked at his sister fondly.

"Is this where they disappeared?" Loki asked, looking around. They were in a forest, not overly dense and not as green as the forests on—or that had been on, before it was destroyed—Asgard. He smelled salt, signifying that the ocean was not far from here.

"Almost. We're about a mile out from where their trackers just disappeared; they were here looking to capture the trading vessel that was supposed to sail north along the coastline and supposedly it had the stolen tech and vibranium on it," Bruce said, and T'Challa nodded. They began to walk through the woods, and the two mortal kids followed behind, still talking energetically. As they got closer, Loki began to smell something that resembled burned grass, and he began walking faster, realizing exactly what it was. They reached a clearing in the woods, and burned into the ground were Asgardian runes in a large circle. Peter and Shuri saw the marks burned into the grass and fell quiet; neither of them had seen anything like this. Bruce and T'Challa had seen it only once before, on the battleground in Wakanda fighting Thano's army.

"Dammit, Thor," Loki grumbled. "Where the Hel did you go?"


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**

**The next few chapters contain detailed descriptions of the biggest fears and painful memories that several of the characters have; these parts are italicized so if it bothers anyone you can just skip over it!**

 

"Nidavellir," a voice from behind them announced. The five of them spun around to see Natasha walking towards them.

Peter shouted "Aunt Nat!" and ran towards her, but Loki called out "Peter!" and he stopped, looking at Loki with a confused expression. Something about this seemed wrong.

The God stalked forward, stepping in front of the kid. "Why would they go to Nidavellir, Romanoff?"

"And why couldn't we find your tracker?" Bruce put in, coming up to stand next to Loki. He knew Natasha better than anyone else, aside from maybe Clint, and he too felt that something was off about her. Then he caught a glimpse of her normally brown eyes, which were now a brilliant blue.

"Loki, what do her eyes remind you of?" he asked, repeating tapping the God's arm as the woman drew closer. Loki knew exactly what Bruce was referring to, and turning to Bruce he commanded "Get back to the Quinjet; take Peter and Shuri with you." Bruce nodded, and grabbing the kids' arms he dragged them protesting towards the jet, until they were stopped by Bucky. His eyes also bright blue, slowly walking out of the woods towards them. T'Challa came to stand next to him, now covered in armor that looked like a cat costume. Loki rolled his eyes—must all of these heroes have such  _ridiculous_ costumes—as he used his magic to dress in his Asgardian regalia, daggers in his hands. Suddenly, Natasha and Barnes stopped and simply watched them as another man Loki didn't recognize stepped out of the woods.

"Ah, very clever of you, Loki Odinson, to have figured it out already! But then, you've seen and experienced this before," the man called out as he walked towards them. The man was dressed in a casual suit, which was still fairly strange considering they were in the middle of a forest, and he held a long staff in his hand—a nearly exact copy of Loki's staff used in the Battle of New York.

"Who are you, and how did you get an Infinity Stone?" The God demanded, and the man simply laughed.

"My name is Dr. Faustaus, and not everyone needs and Infinity Stone, Odinson, just enough research and experimentation to make a power source strong enough to take control of others' minds." The man explained, looking proudly down at the staff as he spoke. Suddenly he looked up at Loki and grinned as the other Avengers stepped out of the woods, one by one. Stark, the Vision, and his brother were the only ones missing.

Loki looked to the witch, the only one of the circling Avengers who seemed to be under the least control of the scepter—her eyes were flashing between their normal color, the scarlet red of her magic, and blue. An idea suddenly popped into his head, and he ran straight towards the witch as the others attacked, ignoring the kid's shout. He blocked her magic with his own and left her to attack a clone of his, when she realized too late that the real Loki had managed to sneak up and touch her forehead, allowing him into her mind. There was no way they could take on all of the Avengers at once; Loki knew that from experience, particularly since they didn't want to hurt the others. However, if he could turn them back, one by one...they might stand a chance. But he couldn't do it alone.

The moment he touched her, he was transported into her darkest and most terrifying memory, which he knew would happen as he simultaneously fought to push the effects of the mind control out. But he wasn't prepared for what he saw.

_A young girl and her older brother hid under their beds, holding onto each other tightly as bombs rained down outside of their home. Suddenly, a loud and very close explosion rang out, causing the young redheaded girl to scream, her brother trying to calm her. The building rumbled and the outer wall began to collapse, the parents of the two children trapped beneath the fallen rubble. Suddenly another bomb fell, this one not exploding immediately on impact, landing in the pile of rubble not ten feet from the children's faces, who were now frozen with fear. They spent days there, starving, prepared for the flash and then welcoming darkness at every shift in the rubble until they were finally rescued. There were only two words written on the side of the shell:_ Stark Industries.

Loki gasped as he finished expelling the effects of the mind control from Wanda's mind; only a few seconds had passed. The man yelled in anger. If everyone was like this, he wasn't sure he could stand it. He helped her stand, while she looked around in shock. The Avengers were fighting each other...but she couldn't remember why. The God gave her the short version of what he knew, and said, "We need to break the control on some of the others, then we can focus on attacking Doctor whatever-his-name-is," Loki said, and she looked at him in surprise, but nodded.


	12. Chapter 12

Loki looked around the clearing, which had now become a battlefield. Surrounding Dr. Faustaus with a group of clones to keep him busy, Loki raced over to Natasha, who was currently attacking the kid. Having nothing around but trees to web off of, the spider-kid had simply been trying to dodge her attacks and not get hit, and he was actually doing pretty well. He even distracted her long enough so that Loki was able to surprise her and try to free her mind.

Even though he knew it would be harder this time and was more prepared, he was still shaken as he was transported somewhere else.

_Bright lights shone overhead, and with the white the hallway was bright enough the red-haired girl had to squint as she was wheeled on a gurney down the hallway of the hospital, headed to the surgery she'd been dreading. She knew what they were making her into; all of the training she had gone through to erase any signs of fear or weakness, to kill without question or hesitation. But she could never completely erase the worm of fear she tried to bury so deep within her._

Loki released the woman, having pushed out the other man's control of her mind. A second later, she had him pinned to the ground, boot pressed against his throat. "Why were you in my head?" she hissed, and Loki put his hands up.

Pointing to the doctor, who was just finishing off the last of his clones, he explained to her what was happening and what he was trying to do. She let him stand up, and he tried to brush himself off while retaining some of his dignity. "Where is my brother?" he asked, grabbing her arm before she ran off to help Peter.

"Get your hand off me," she spat, then answered, "Some place called Nidavellir? He, Stark, and Vision took the stolen tech there to be destroyed by some dwarf king? I don't remember much else."

She launched herself towards Faustaus, while Loki looked around and caught his breath. Wanda had already brought Sam back and was currently working on Steve, which left Barnes.

The God had heard stories of the Winter Soldier; and he really didn't want to be Dr. Faustaus when Barnes found out he had been mind controlled against his will  _again._  He was currently battling T'Challa, who looked to be struggling a bit. Loki jumped into the fray, quickly getting Barnes' attention as he slashed with his daggers, not actually trying to harm the man. Two on one, they managed to overpower him, though not before Loki took a surprisingly powerful hit to the shoulder. Loki was finally able to make contact to free him and tried to prepare himself for whatever dark memories the man might have.

_There was only pain; so much pain, he was sure he would die, he should be dead. He was being dragged through the snow, his shoulder bleeding from the stump where his left arm used to be. Suddenly he was being strapped to a table, and man with round eye glasses and an evil twinkle in his eyes smiled cruelly down at him, saying in a heavily accented voice,_ " _You vill be my greatest creation yet." Then there was even more pain, and then endless training and assassinations, all while he watched from inside the man, having no control--he was forced to watch, screaming and fighting from the inside._

Loki broke free of the man's vision, who stared at him wild-eyed until he realized his thoughts were his own again. The God immediately raised his hands in surrender as the soldier turned on him. "I didn't do this to you, I broke your mind free of it," he said, before he could get the same warm greeting from the man as he did from Romanoff.

Loki sensed what was coming a moment before the Bifrost appeared, revealing Thor, Stark, and the Vision. Thor was wreathed in lightning, his eyes crackling with power, while Stark was in his suit and ready to go. The Vision, who no longer contained the mind stone in his head but was still an AI robot, showed no signs of being under mind control. Suddenly spotting the man with the scepter who was battling almost all of the other Avengers at this point, Thor turned and marched towards Loki, who began to back up and surrender for the second time in the span of a few minutes.

"Brother, what did you do?" Thor demanded.

" _I_  did nothing, you oaf," he hissed, though by now he was barely standing thanks to using so much magic. He suspected Wanda wasn't doing too much better.

"Then why does he have your scepter? And how did he get the Mind Stone?" Thor demanded, still believing this was Loki's doing.

"It's not my scepter, you moron, he created a copy of it! And I don't know what he has for a power source, but he mentioned that he didn't need or have the Stone! Believe it or not, I have actually been trying to save your idiotic mortal friends," Loki spat angrily. Thor hadn't seen him this angry in a long time, and he knew his brother well enough that he was angry at being wrongfully accused. Thor calmed down a bit, and they both turned to face Dr. Faustaus, who was now surrendering while Natasha held the scepter pointed at his throat.

Suddenly Stark was in his face, yelling at him. "Dammit Loki, where's Peter?! I thought you were watching him!"

"I wasn't aware that I was your personal babysitter, Stark," Loki snapped, barely on his feet thanks to adrenaline and definitely not in the mood for another argument. "I told Bruce to bring him and the other girl back to the Quinjet, I'm assuming that's what he did while I helped save your sorry asses!" With that, he stormed off, leaving Thor and Stark to stare after him, dumbfounded.

 

\--.--

 

As powerful as the God of Mischief was, Loki barely made it onto the Quinjet before passing out from exhaustion now that the adrenaline had disappeared. Stark was flying Dr. Faustaus to the Raft personally, if only to make sure Natasha or Bucky didn't kill him on the way there. 

Peter sat next to the sleeping God and watched him anxiously, something Thor didn't fail to notice.


	13. Chapter 13

Loki was woken up by Peter as they arrived back at the tower, and grumbling the God yawned and followed the others out of the jet. Stark had yet to arrive, though FRIDAY informed them that he would be back very soon. Loki knew the others were still mad at him for using his magic on them, but he couldn't care less. Before Loki could retire to his room however, Stark arrived and called a meeting in the lab. He forbade the kid from coming by making an excuse that the kid needed to get some rest before school tomorrow, but the real reason? There was about to be a lot of noise coming from the nearly soundproof lab.

The moment the God walked in, everyone stopped their conversation to glare at him, minus Bruce and Wanda. The others had already forgiven  _her_ , Loki noticed bitterly.

"What did you see when you were in our heads," Natasha growled, looking angrier than Loki had ever seen her, even after the New York and Barton incident.

Loki sighed, exhaustion still weighing him down. He was really not in the mood for this. "I had no choice but to see your thoughts, it was the only way to break the man's hold on your minds. Wanda knows this," he explained, trying not to get too angry.

Wanda nodded slowly. "When using magic on the mind, it temporarily allows you to see the person's most painful memory; it was unavoidable." Steve and Sam whirled to glare at Wanda, who put her hands up defensively. Loki didn't know what she had seen, but he knew that what he had witnessed wouldn't leave him anytime soon.

Natasha and Barnes were glaring at him still, and he shrugged, trying to stay on his feet. No one was saying anything, just glaring at him or in Bruce's case, looking quite uncomfortable. Finally the tension became too much for the exhausted God.

"I didn't want to!" The God snapped bitterly, meeting each of their stares. "You should be glad I even came to find you, I'm certain no one in this room but Thor would have done the same for me. I would've been left to rot!" Now no one would meet his eyes as he dared them to say differently. But no one spoke up.

Finally, Natasha asked, "So why did you? I don't think it was just out of the goodness of your heart." The words stung, more than Loki thought they would, but he didn't allow it to show. As the God opened his mouth to retort, Stark cut him off.

"Peter."

The God was silent for a few moments. "He cares, so I cared." Loki said quietly, not even ashamed to admit it anymore. "No one else did." Nobody met his gaze or challenged him before he turned and silently left the room.

Bruce broke the silence first, a few moments after the God's footsteps had receded down the hall. "He went to the monument the other day," Bruce said softly, and everyone's head whipped around to stare at him, astonished. "It was his own idea. I don't know what caused it." Bruce went to leave, but paused in the doorway to add, "Oh, and while I was gone looking for you guys, Ross stopped by looking for you, Stark. You may want to watch the camera feed—as well as upstairs here directly afterwards." With that, Bruce left the room. 


	14. Chapter 14

Tony did watch the video, astonished by the fact that the God didn't kill the general where he stood after the last insulting comment; Tony sure would have. And the look on the general's face...Tony almost peed himself laughing, until he saw Loki's face when his employees started clapping—Reindeer Games had genuinely smiled, though in an almost nervous way as though no one had ever cheered for him before. And when he came back through the elevator, he didn't hurt the kid for hugging him, no, he even let Peter steal his helmet and wear it around! Tony had only been gone for a week, but already it seemed as though Peter had changed the God's entire personality, just by being the caring kid Tony knew he was and was proud of. 

 

\--.--

 

Over the next few weeks, life in the tower had returned to normal, though there were some changes to be noted.

The kid often slept in Loki's room so during his frequent nightmares the God could calm him down, though more often than not the kid woke Loki up from his own nightmares. Peter began to see Loki as a 'big brother' figure, as Thor later explained to his brother. Stark gave Loki permission to go wherever he wanted, rather than being confined to the tower forever, on the condition that he didn't try to kill anyone. Nobody but Peter and Tony noticed that Loki began to leave the Tower very early every morning to go to the memorial and returned before the sun rose, but they never confronted him about it.

Loki, for his part, noted how the others—at least some of them, like Bruce, Thor, and Stark—didn't watch the God like he was about to attack them at any given time; he even noticed respect in their expressions, though Stark still annoyingly called him Reindeer Games. The only thing that made this better was that Stark called his brother Point Break, which Loki never failed to point out gleefully. 

Peter picked up an annoying habit of wearing Loki's helmet around, but the God of Mischief could never bring himself to be truly upset with the kid who had taught him compassion. 


	15. Extra

**A/N**

**The idea for this popped into my head randomly and I decided to add it to the end of this story as an extra bonus, so I hope you guys like it!**

 

Peter burst into the God's room one Saturday morning, clearly very excited. Loki didn't look up from his book until the kid suddenly jumped onto the bed and began bouncing around. The God closed his book with a sigh, and the kid crouched down to look earnestly at him. "I have an idea, Mr. Loki!"

"Do you now?" the God grumbled in halfhearted irritation.

"Yup! C'mon, let's go for a walk!" And grabbing his arm with surprising strength, the spider-kid dragged him out of the tower. Loki attempted to change into less conspicuous clothing, but the kid swatted his arm and told him to keep his normal Asgardian clothing on, while the God of Mischief stared down at him incredulously.

For passerbys it was truly a sight to behold; they stopped and stared at the sight of a teenager dragging Loki, the God of Mischief and Prince of Asgard, excitedly through the streets of New York.

Peter didn't allow the God time to stop and yell at the people for snapping pictures; he wanted people seeing this side of Loki, the one who was desperately trying to hide a smile as he glared at Peter.

Finally, they arrived at their destination and Peter practically shoved Loki through the doors of the animal shelter. The idea had come to him last night, and he had to make sure with Mr. Stark that it was okay for Loki to adopt a pet before bringing the God here. Loki looked down at Peter, pure shock in his expression, and Peter couldn't help but laugh.

"Pick one out!" Peter said, ignoring the other customers around them who were trying very hard not to stare too obviously at the strange pair, many failing. Loki noticed this, but Peter tugged on his sleeve and said, "Ignore them."

Sighing, Loki began to look around the shelter, and most of the animals quieted and shied away from him as he walked past, the kid trailing behind silently. Finally the God reached one cage where the creature didn't shy away at all; in fact it came even closer to him and meowed. It was an all black cat, with emerald green eyes much like his own. The creature's emerald gaze never left his, and after a moment he declared, "I want this one."

Peter went to talk to the man at the desk, stating that they would like to adopt the cat. The man laughed nervously upon seeing them, stating "Oh she's a handful, that one!"

Loki simply turned his emerald gaze to the man and said softly in his velvety voice, "So am I."

The man swallowed and lifted the kitten out of the cage, where she immediately began hissing and scratching at the man. Loki took the kitten from the poor balding man, where she instantly relaxed and began purring as the God held her in his arms. He wasn't sure how he felt; he had never had a pet or anything to take care of aside from himself (and now Peter, somewhat) but also felt like the now sleeping kitten was something worth him protecting and caring for.

Peter smiled at the soft look on Loki's face as he gazed at the cat. This was exactly what he had been hoping for. He gently pulled the God towards the desk, where he had to fill out and sign a bunch of documents in order to adopt the kitten. The man tried to give them a small carrying crate for her, but with a glare from Loki--"I shall carry her"--the man left it alone. The unlikely pair left the shelter, and their next stop was to get litter and food for the kitten. Several store employees tried to tell them that no pets were allowed in the store, but with a glare from the God of Mischief they quickly backed down.

 

\--.--

 

Later that day, Loki and Peter returned to the tower with the kitten and the stuff to take care of it; Peter having no trouble carrying the heavy bucket of litter. The other Avengers stared at them, confused as to why Loki of all people was carrying a cat. The kitten, which Loki had decided to name Nótti, after the Norse personification of night, leaped from his arms and walked around, sniffing her new surroundings. The God of Mischief followed behind protectively, something the others didn't fail to notice, and Stark smiled to himself, knowing immediately that Peter's idea had worked. Thor bent down to pick Nótti up, who instantly began hissing and scratching at him, much to Loki's delight. The kitten leaped back into the God's arms, climbing up to sit on his shoulder, not unlike a parrot.

Peter helped the God set up the litter box and food bowl in Loki's room, Stark's only condition to having her in the tower. Nótti was allowed to wander through the entire floor of the tower with the exception of Tony's lab, which she did. She tended to cause quite of a bit of trouble, just like her mischievous owner. And though some of the other Avengers--everyone except Peter, Natasha, and Bruce, whom the kitten tolerated--grumbled about the kitten's antics, it was worth it to see the close bond Loki was forming with the creature. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all, folks! Please comment and let me know what you think, it would mean a lot to me! I hope you enjoyed my story as much as I enjoyed writing it!


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